tk545 Release Notes

Version 1.4

New commands
sort memory channels by frequency or
by label, in any 100-channel bank or in all 100-channel banks.
Users can save the sorted memory channel list to a CSV file.

Duplicate frequency check.

When importing channels from a CSV file,
values for selectivity and AGC are now optional and
defaults will be used if no values are specified.

New messages diagnose erroneous lines in a CSV file.

A new
command under the Data menu clears all memory channels.
This is useful before opening a memory channel CSV file
if you want to override the current channels instead of
merging the channels in the file with the current channels.
If you do not clear the channels before opening a new file,
the channel information from the file will be merged with
the previous channel information.

After reading the memory channel list from the radio
and saving it in a file, tk545 will open the file
and display the channels in a window.

Version 1.3

September 14, 2002

Added label caching.
tk545 keeps track of frequency labels
from the .csv file and adds them to a cache file.
The cache file will be used
to display a label associated with a frequency.

Added a large font frequency usage note display, which may be
disabled.
It shows the usage label below the frequency display.

Removed the requirement
that the serial port be a character special
device when run under Linux.
This change permits using a symbolic link as a serial port,
which is typical in Mandrake Linux environments.

The Line Enhance button is now labeled NR Hold.

Version 1.2

February 21, 2002

Added Ben Mesander's MacOS X changes.

Reorganized source files.
There are now fewer files and some the files are now
common with tk8500.

Version 1.1

February 11, 2002

Added log file feature. tk545 will save the
date, time, frequency, mode, signal strength, and a comment
in a .csv format file chosen by the user.
The user is prompted for an optional comment.

Added the ability to choose a different font and colors for the
program graphics.

Version 1.0

January 9, 2002

You can now set the radio's clock from the computer
in either GMT or local time zone.
(suggested by Ben Mesander)

Added View menu on the option bar

Added new analog-style slide rule dial
which tracks the digital frequency display.
The slide rule dial is an option in the new View menu.

A Session History facility remembers the frequency, mode,
and time whenever you change the frequency or mode.
You can view these changes in a separate Session
History window and click on
a previous setting to return the radio to that frequency
and mode.
Session History is an option in the new View menu.

Added an S-Meter/indicators enable/disable option in the View menu.
Disabling the S-Meter
and indicators prevents the software from polling
the radio for the signal strength, AM lock,
and stereo, and may be desirable
on slower computers or while debugging.

An option permits you to tie the bandwidth to the
emission mode so the bandwidth is set to Intermediate
whenever you change modes.
(suggested by Steve Walker)

Indicator shows when AM stereo signals are detected. (However,
the radio claims to detect stereo when it should not.)

Added new Presets menu so radio may be tuned
quickly to standard time stations, e.g., WWV, CHU.
Preset info is read from the presets.tcl file.
(requested by Steve Walker)

Version 0.9

December 30, 2001

This is a beta version of
tk545
and probably contains bugs.
Made these changes:

tk545
prompts the user to identify the serial port
if it does not find a configuration file.

Mode, IF Bandwidth, and Passband shift are now stored
in the configuration file so they can be recalled
from the previous session.

Added Steve Walker's code to permit a user
to unlock the front panel, manually tune the radio
using the front panel knob.
The user can then press the Syn
key to resync the computer
frequency display to the radio's display.

Version 0.8

December 29, 2001

Note:
This is a beta version of
tk545
and probably contains bugs.

Ben Mesander helped add more logic to support
Mac OSX and made several suggestions.

Configuration file name changed to
.tk545rc on UNIX platform(s) and
tk545.ini on Windows platform.

tk545 now saves most of
the radio operating parameters in
the configuration file so it can remember
the settings from the previous session.
It creates the configuration file
when the user invokes the menus

File -> Save setup

MHz and kHz keys added to the keypad.

Frequencies entered into the main frequency display
may end in the letter M, m, K, or k to signify
MHz or kHz.